Guns and Glory

continued

Edd Carrico says he's noticed a greater interest in gun ownership, both out at the range and at work--he sells firearms at Cabela's in Dundee. "More people are getting associated with shooting," he says. "They come out and try it, and in the back of their mind, they think 'I wouldn't mind owning one.'"

More immediately, however, Carrico is worried about his standing in the day's pin shoot. Mandy Furlong of Milan, a young woman who first began shooting pins when she was eleven, is having another good day. "I've got to get her thinking about something other than shooting," says Carrico as she prepares to shoot her fourth of six rounds. He calls out through the rain, asking her about her feet, clad only in flip-flops.

At the sound of the buzzer, Furlong lifts her gun towards the pins, shoots them down in a cool 3.84 seconds, and turns to Carrico. "My feet," she says, "are just fine."